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Friday, March 21, 2014

This solo trip to China was decided on a whim, and I blame it on CebuPac’s Piso Sale. I usually take a long leave from work and I make sure that there are non-working holidays on my date of travel so that I will I only need to deduct few from those VLs and CDOs. Due to the recent conflicts with the Philippine-China government, my friends were very hesitant to join me on this trip. So I decided to go alone and to dare myself on another solo backpacking adventure.

12 Days of Solo Backpacking in China: Beijing, Datong, Pingyao and Xian

PLANNING
First things first, secure your Chinese visa! You don’t want to waste your effort planning for a trip when you are not certain of this step yet. For Filipinos looking for Chinese Visa assistance, I recommend Asia Pacific Travel agency located along Escolta, Manila. You may connect with them via (02) 3533729. What I especially like about this agency is they have friendly agents and very very affordable processing fee! Super recommended. In case you want to apply by yourself, the requirements are very easy and can be found here. On other instances, my mother usually submits them to the embassy and I prepare authorization letters just in case.

There were just too many places that I wanted to see in China, but due to time restrictions of twelve days, I decided between Beijing, Xian, and Chengdu. I figured Chengdu is too large and I probably need to spend more time there (since also traveling to Jiuzhaigou, one of Chengdu’s famous tourist destinations, could take 3-4 days, I decided to put this plan aside and reserve it for a trip during autumn season), I was left with Beijing and Xian. Upon reading some blogs, I was able to discover some interesting cities that I could pass by before going to Xi’An, such as Pingyao and Datong. If you’re coming during summer or springtime and have some extra money to spend, you can also head out to Inner Mongolia, Luoyang or Chengde. Tianjin is also famous for those looking for side trips due its close proximity to Beijing.

For more tips on traveling to China, I will be making a separate post soon. :)

ACCOMODATION
Hostels in China are amazingly cheap and you’ll really feel that your money was well spent with the facilities they have around. Rates around big cities run around 40 to 80 CNY, my most favorite stay was at this quaint hostel in Pingyao. At 20 CNY a night and with this lovely traditional architecture, what’s not to love?

ITINERARY
I didn’t have a strict itinerary and only had to list the places that I want to see because I didn’t have much time to plan, but this itinerary is doable for nine-eleven days with careful planning and cramming.

I took a direct flight from Manila to Beijing, and on the same day, made my way to Datong. Pingyao was my next destination before heading to Xi’An. From there, I went back to Beijing. One loop.

My route for my solo trip to China, the distance look quite near to each other, but train travel would usually take 8-12 hours

EXPENSES
My total expense around China was about 3200 CNY, daily average of 270 CNY (around 40 USD) for lodging, transportation, food and tourist fees. I decided not to limit myself with the food because eating out in China is not expensive! I am also in love with their Pizza Hut and Ajisen Ramen branches in China, the menu is so extensive and different compared to what we have in the Philippines.

You can also grab a copy of my “accounting sheet” during the trip through this page in case you want to have an idea how much you’ll likely to be spending per day.

Breakdown of my travel expenses in China, 3200 CNY for a solo female backpacker for 12 days? Not bad!

THE SOLO JOURNEY BEGINS…

Day 1-2Datong

When I think of Datong, I am reminded of the dust and grime all over the city. It seems like they were doing some massive reconstructions when I was there. Datong didn’t give off that excitement and there’s really not much to do except for The Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Monastery, but both of these are certainly worth the visit. From then on, I realized that though the food and transportation in China could be cheap, the entrance fees to these sites are steep and can take a toll on the wallet. I still think that both of those places are top-notch and not to be missed especially if you are around Northern China.

one of the most impressive statues in Yungang Grottoes

always included in top 10 most precarious structures built all over the world, going to The Hanging Monastery is an impressive old temple with unique history

Pingyao is such a low-key destination, but the possibilities on what you can see made me excited. I was supposed to reserve one day for Mianshan, a mountain famous in the region of Shanxi for its natural scenery, but had to cancel since I spend almost one whole day for travel.

I spent the next day traveling outside the suburbs of Pingyao to see the famous Wang Family Courtyard House which is a massive complex of ancestral houses that seemed like a big maze, Zhangbi Underground Castle, an ancient defense system and Shuanglin Temple, that seemed more like a museum for me, it was pretty amusing since it houses tons of old sculptures! That day was like going to Disneyland!

Going around the walled city of Pingyao could take a day or two. The experience can be compared to going to those folk villages, the area was preserved beautifully to represent how the place looks like hundreds of years ago.

Pingyao and its lovely architecture

one of the famous house complex in China! I felt like I was in a labyrinth

such an impressive display of ancient art skills at Shuanglin Temple

Day 6-8Xi'An

I was starting to feel the summer heat when I arrived at Xi’An which resulted to cancelling of plans of going to Huashan and trying this death defying stunt. Might as well be prepared next time and go there with a companion, and better yet, with a travel insurance.

Xi’An is one of those walled cities in China, but it is really large compared to that of Datong and Pingyao. There are lots of interest areas here, but if you’ve been to a number of pagodas, temples and the likes, you can skip. If there’s one thing you must not miss around the city, it’s Muslim Quarter. I never had an idea that China was so diverse, not until I went here and experienced the culture by myself.

When thinking of Xi’an, it’s almost always connected to The Terracotta Warriors, which still gives me goose bumps every time I think about it. A similar attraction, though underrated, is The Tomb of Emperor Jingdi. Think of the warriors only smaller and much cuter.

I'd be surprised if you'll miss the Bell Tower located at the heart of Xi'An's busiest intersection

food choices at The Muslim Quarter - not to be missed!

figurine like display at The Tomp of Emperor Jingdi, so impressed with the minute details!

seeing The Terracotta Warriors, a childhood dream come true!

Day 9-12Beijing

I have probably spent too much time researching on the logistics for Datong, Pingyao and Xi’an, I had actually no plans what to see when I arrived in Beijing, so this itinerary is probably doable two to three days tops.

Beijing is full of those shopping districts and restaurant-filled streets, it’s really confusing what there is to see, since I was not really there to buy stuff (super overpriced!) so I ended up just appreciating the architecture. Types can range from hutong or ancient at Nanluoguxiang and Qiamen Street, or modern ones at Wangfujing and 798 Art Street.

One thing that I also love about this city is the harmonious unity of preserved ancient traditions with the very urbanized lifestyle of the locals. Places that shows the unique culture of the Chinese are dime a dozen. I was able to see The Forbidden City and Summer Palace and it made me feel like I was a royalty for a day

The Great Wall is almost synonymous to China, it’s what we always think of when visiting to this country. The feeling of going there was surreal, thinking about the hundreds of years of history embedded to that place was priceless.

quite unique food choices at Wangfujing

imperial palaces at The Forbidden City

Be surrounded by nature and cool off from the summer heat at The Summer Palace

Tibetan architerure

The Great Wall - one of the highlights of this escapade

This trip to China just made me went to crave for more, the country was just too large, I feel like there’s still too much I need to see. Aside from seeing natural and cultural treasures, I was just amazed with how this country is developing and how their government has provided convenient ways for people to travel.

China has been said to be a difficult place to explore, and for me, it certainly proved as a big challenge to step up my game. Being a solo female traveler to China at that time, I had doubts most especially as to how I’ll be able to move around without any companion since it’s been a while since I’ve traveled alone, and to a non-English speaking country, to make things worse. Turns out, it wasn’t so hard at all, even with the surprises I encountered along the way, you just got to have an open mind for mistakes and learn from them.

China was a good prep for more exciting ventures, traveling as a solo female at that time was not just a learning experience for me about travel and cultures, but also gave me time to think and know more about myself. Just one of the many things I love about traveling.

The Chronicles of Mariane is Mariane Ballesteros' personal blog that records all her random thoughts on traveling, fashion, food, and other (not-so) interesting adventures. She's working as a System Analyst and is trying to balance all her goals in life with her weird body clock. She loves to travel and eat, apparently! She's (trying to be) an entrepreneur, polyglot, and a travel photographer.
You may follow me via Google, Facebook or Instagram

Very informative. Im planning to visit my fiance in Shanghai this May and im hoping to visit these places as i will be staying for at least a month. Just hoping i wont be having hard time applying for S2 visa. Will surely go to Asia Pacific Travel. Thanks!

You are a tough cookie. Traveling as many hours as you did without an assigned seat. I once traveled with a friend on a night train from Rome to Nice with a train compartment all to ourselves and when we woke up my friends valuables, including his travel document were gone while the train was still enroute from one station to the next! Grrrr. I would not have mind if a blonde nymphomanic entered our compartment and raped me LOL. No such luck.

Gosh that must have been tough, good thing you did not lose anything but how did your friend manage to recover his passport and other important items? You really must not let your guard down when commuting even though you have companions with you. That would be a good story to tell if you've met such a 'crazy' blonde, I don't think they are into train travel so try your luck in planes next time. haha

We're staying in Happy Dragon Hostel. For 700PHP per person per night; we already thought it was a great deal! Then I found your post :)

By the way, we're planning to do a quick Xi'an trip since we have two extra days. Do you think we would have enough time? Also, do you know of a cheap way to get to Xian one night and back to Beijing the next night?

Hi thank you for sharing your Beijing trip. I'm planning to go there solo next year. How did you manage taking a good picture of yourself and the views? Did you use a tripod? It's my first time to travel alone and I fear that I won't be able to take pictures of myself along with the scenery compared with if I have a companion.

No I didn't bring a tripod. I would usually take these desperate selfies (haha) OR I would ask tourists who also looks like they're traveling solo since there's almost a 95% chance they'd also want to have their pictures taken as well, so it's a give and take (Since you're going to China, I suggest you approach Westerners since they will most likely respond to you in English as well). I use a bulky SLR so most of the people I ask do not really know how to operate it so it's usually a "hit or miss" picture. What I do is I always set my settings to Automatic when I hand it to them. If you'll only bring a digicam then better as it's more user friendly. A monopod would also help. Enjoy!

Hi Mariane, I’ve been wanting to travel solo for as long as I can remember or afford it hahaha but I’ve been putting it off because I’m not sure if it’s safe or will I get to have fun without a friend to enjoy the trip with but after reading your posts I got inspired . I’ll finally do it. I’m travelling solo. Any last advice? BTW.. Love your post.

Just follow ur heart and go for it! Be street smart but dont be afraid to ask locals for directions and tips, they always know the cheapest options. Inform a family member/close friend on your daily whereabouts. Keep track of your expenses and plan ahead. But dont forget the most impt thing, enjoy the experience!! :D

Thanks Danny! I never had any problems with hostels, I understand your apprehension but it's totally safe but just be mindful of your stuff, most hostels have lockers so you can keep your valuables while you are away but do check with them before you arrive.Sounds like an exciting trip! Be sure to bring your student ID so you can get 50% discount on entrance fees :) Enjoy!!!

Hi,I would like to know, how u travel from the train station to the hostels and to the tourist places. Would like to visit China by myself but a bit worried as i have not travel solo before.Thanks. p/s: awesome post, it makes me want to go there

When I went there I mostly followed the directions from travelchinaguide.com. but if you have a smartphone, Google maps would be helpful! Transpo around the bigger cities in China is very efficient. Good luck on your plans!